The best way to make sure painting goes smooth is to be as thorough as possible with your prep work, especially cleaning.
This is assuming all sanding is done, and the vehicle is ready for paint.
- Blow off very good first
- Clean very good first with water borne cleaner. This type of cleaner does a great job of removing sanding residue and dust.
- Clean with solvent based wax and grease remover.
- Complete all masking. Touch the body as little as possible.
- Clean twice thoroughly with solvent was and grease remover.
A note about using cleaners. Spray them on, fully wetting the panel, and use a dry lint free towel. A lot of times it works great to use a second towel to dry it better. Cleaners work by floating the contaminates up, and then being wiped off. They don’t work nearly as well if cleaner is just wiped on a panel.